By Bill Franks

The Author of “Fighting Times” Jonathan (Jon) Melrod appeared in person at a Book Reading and Signing at a Room of One’s Own on September 28, 2023. The event was sponsored by the Progressive Magazine, School for Workers, the Havens Center and the South Central Federation of Labor. Before Jon’s visit to our fair city, he sent me a copy of the book so that I could familiarize myself with its contents and properly introduce him. Prior to the event he and I spoke a few times and exchanged electronic communications.

We shared some similar experiences, which I found interesting. We were both subjects of prior Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance. In Jon’s case, some of you may recall the name of COINTEL PRO, the surveillance campaign, that dated back to J.Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Bureau. The FBI had a file on Jon which talks at length about the book.  “…The book takes its name from an underground union newspaper that Melrod and co-workers published, which earned a footnote in labor and journalism history when it overcame a potentially ruinous $4 million libel suit (the judge found for two of the plaintiffs, but the jury awarded no damages), and the National Labor Relations Board subsequently ordered American Motors to pay out $238,000 after a finding that the company’s role in funding and directing the lawsuit amounted to an unfair, anti-union labor practice.” (Erick Gunn). Jon and I shared another similarity — we both lived in the 500 block of West Main Street. This was, and perhaps still is the notorious downtown student housing area, noted by the ever present but hardly ever seen, absentee landlord, who never bothered to pony up for much needed repairs and insisted rent be paid on time every month.

We are both cancer survivors. Jon talked about his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2004. He thought it was a death sentence and was determined to beat it — it also served as motivation for writing Fighting Times, as a memoir for his children. Jon’s experience in Madison, as a student was highlighted by the Black Student Strike of 1969. A vibrant coalition of students that were not Black was created to support the demands of the small number of Black students on the U.W. Madison Campus. The main point that Jon made here had to do with the proactive approach that the coalition took, by bringing the main points of the strike to the student body and educating the students in the dorms about the meaning of those actions, which included blocking access to classrooms. Governor Lucey called in the National Guard. A March on the Capitol of 10,000 students demonstrated the extent to which there was support for the Strike and showed how Solidarity of Working Class People, in this case students, actually worked.

By the time Jon graduated from UW, he later learned from his FBI file, that he had already become a marked man, so to speak. Selling the Black Panther Newspaper on campus painted him as a crazed and dangerous radical. He relives experiences about serving as “Security” for the Chicago Deputy Minister of Defense after the late Fred Hampton when he spoke here at rallies and other activist events, before Chairman Fred was assassinated by the Chicago Police and the FBI.

The next phase of Jon’s journey, after graduation exposed him to the world of factory work, to include EZ Painter, American Motors (AMC) and the Tannery. His exposure to toxic industrial chemicals very likely led to developing cancer many years later. He emphasized, that pursuant to the AMC Wildcat Strike of 1969, that UAW Local 72 had what was referred to as the “Trinity” of Union (Collective Bargaining Agreements) Contracts, i.e., 1. One Steward for Every 35 Workers, 2. 100 percent Voluntary Overtime and 3. Ability to Strike over Grievances. Years later, when the Company announced its intentions to relocate jobs to Canada, 1,000 Workers marched in front of the factory and voted to strike to block the job loss. Just as interesting was the “Fight Back Caucus” that initiated “Ride the Line” action (stay in the car until the job is done) and the “Stop the Speed Up” action that included having t-shirts printed up and widely distributed. These activities and the ‘Redbaiting” tactics of the Company eventually led to Jon being fired (as documented in his FBI File). Eventually Jon was reinstated after a couple of years and he managed to ascend to the Union hierarchy. The rest of the details of Jon’s journey are well described in his book.

What we didn’t have much of an opportunity to discuss was Jon’s experiences as an Immigration Attorney. Guess we’ll have to go through those experiences with him, next time he’s in town.

Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War can be ordered directly from pmpress.org. Enter the discount code FIGHTING and receive a 40 percent discounted rate.